Fall of the House of Usher

Late last summer I had the pleasure of collaborating with an extremely talented artist Victoria Trinder I have loved Victoria's work for years; its dark, delicate, beautiful and morose all at the same time, which are, in short, all of my favourite things.

The idea of the shoot was to involve the painting into the shoot, so Victoria started with one painting (painted whilst model Danni was in make up), with no idea of the wardrobe/props I had or the make up Alexandra would be doing (other than our initial moodboard) and then as the shoot went on Victoria added more and more layers to her beautiful painting in between outfit changes.

The title is that of an Edgar Allan Poe story, although it was not shot with the story in mind when I looked at the finished series I could help but be reminded of the story with Danni as the troubled Madeline.  Everything from the ever-darkening painting as a backdrop, to the increasingly wild hair styling and even the feathers echoed another, and most famous of Poe's work; the title just seemed to fit.  Here are a few of the finished images.

Model: Danni @ Oxygen
MUA: Alexandra Kourieh
Designer: Fabryan (black dresses)
Set Design/Artist: Victoria Trinder

Client Shoot: Frank and Faith

Earlier this Autumn I shot a collection for UK based ethical clothing brand Frank and Faith Below are some of the finished images.

Model: Heather Martin
MUA & Hair: Sarah Harris

Lilla Balaszc Jewellery

Over the summer I shot two full collection of Lilla Balasc Jewellery.  Lilla is an incredibly talented designer from LCF who works with beautiful coloured leathers and creates very unique pieces.  

Model: Bernedette V

MUA and Hair: Alana Clapson and Gurvinder Hunjan

Jordan

In February 2010 I travelled to Jordan to visit the ancient Nabataean ruins at Petra.  I had never been to any Middle Eastern country before so I had no idea what to expect in terms of physical landscape and local reception but I can say I was fully blown away by what a wonderful country Jordan is. 

The first thing that really jumped out at me was during the cab journey from the airport to the hostel. We landed in Amman, late evening, and were driven through the desert down the main road to Wadi Musa.  Looking out of the windows as we were driving and not seeing anything but pure darkness was a unique experience; I have never been anywhere in the world where there was such a vast expanse of nothingness, just a sea of stars and thentruly black oblivion. 

I stayed at the Saba’a, hostel which was fantastic.  The accommodation was extremely basic but the owners were the most helpful, friendly couple one could hope to meet travelling.  If you are ever considering travelling to Jordan on a budget stay there! Trust me you’ll have such a fun time. 

The ruins were just as magical as I had dreamed of them being since I was about 7 and read an article on places to see before you die, in which they featured.  Anyone unfamiliar with the site may be surprised to learn the Treasury building was used as the location of the Holy Grail in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  I feel there is very little I can really say on the experience of visiting the ruins, no words can do it justice, all I can say is; it really is one of the places you must see before you die!

On a final note, having travelled quite a lot, Jordan is a wonderful country to visit.  It felt very safe; I don’t recall getting hassled at all by street vendors, cab drivers or encountered anyone looking to con you out of your money.  I know people who have travelled to Egypt and Morroco who have said these situations have been so bad they would not return to those countries but nothing like this exists in Jordan (at least in my experience) the people are friendly and very welcoming. It is very simply a wonderful country.

Below are a few photos from my trip.

Camels in front of the Treasury

The Siq, the long passage way leading through to Petra

Visiting Petra by candle light is absolutely unmissable.  This was taken just before entering the Siq, the lighting in nothing but candle light and stars.

Wadi Musa

Desert at Sunset

Opening in a giant rock formation in the middle of the desert.

The Treasury by candle light.

So Loves Vintage

So Loves Vintage

A short while ago I shot for the vintage company So Loves Vintage.  It was a really great day with an awesome team.  Unfortunately, we were supposed to have two models but one did not show up, so the wonderful Heather modelled all the outfits which I them but together in post-production.  She did a fantastic job of remembering her posing an positions, and made my job very easy.  Below are the some of the final images and some BTS, I must try and do more of these, but I always seem to forget.

Model: Heather

MUA: Jessica Hunte

Stylist: Sofia @ So Loves Vintage

To see more of these gorgeous pieces, as well as accessories and online magazine please visit So Loves Vintage

Artemis South Lingerie

I recently had the pleasure of shooting Artemis South Lingerie's new "Honey Trap" line.  It was a really great day especially as I got to work with the wonderful Cyan Cheung again, alongside the gorgeous Debbie.  The theme of the shoot was film noir femme fatale.  Here are a few of the finished images.

All this gorgeous lingerie is available from Artemis South (NB: Artemis South was formally My Fair Lady Lingerie )

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Studs and Stilts

Just finished shooting the collection for Studs and Stilts.  These shoes are amazing and very imaginative!

Cyan and Ink

An "outtake" from my recent Ink Shoot with the always gorgeous Cyan Cheung and the rather lovely Erika J R Wilson MUA.  Its only an outtake in so far as it is edited completely differently as an after thought.  The original series can be found on my flickr here

Lena Mae and Polly Goes Boom

I recently had the pleasure of photographing two gorgeous burlesque performers and I can honestly say I have never had such fun on a shoot, they were a delight to work with and had me giggling the whole way through the morning.  Below are some of the final images from the day; they wanted to step away from the cheesecake images often associated with burlesque so we went for something a little darker with high key lighting and monochromatic styling.

For more info about the gorgeous twosome and their upcoming performances check out The Hundred Watt Club

Peru

In 2007 I travelled to Peru to work on a conservation project at Reserva Ecologica Taricaya (two hours by boat from the small town of Puerto Maldonado).  I absolutely loved my time there and still miss it terribly.  I have always always loved animals and actually wanted to be an animal behaviourist before changing my mind to photography (the week before I started uni) so being able to live and work in the rainforest was a dream come true. 

I personally wish I was a better photojournalist, I just dont have the right eye and I find it very frustrating.  This blog will by no means be a photojournalism/travel blog by heart is in fashion and fine art, i guess this is more of a hobby for me, which i hope to peruse with more vigour and to improve my skills.

Before I flew home I travelled up to the mountain city of Cusco which was a beautiful contrast from the rainforest where I also discovered I have no head for altitude, getting out of breath walking up a flight of stairs was very alien to me.  Visiting Machu Picchu (Peru’s most famous Inca ruins) is an experience that should never be passed up by anyone.  I travelled up by train (you can do the 5 day Inca trail but that is often booked up months and months in advance) which is wonderful itself as you start out from Cusco at dawn and the train slowly winds its way up through the formidable mountain ranges.  A little tip if you are staying over night in Aguas Calientes (the “base camp” town for visiting Machu Picchu) is to get up before dawn the next day and go and see the ruins again.  By the afternoon (the time you arrive on the train) they are very very full with tourists which can slightly take the edge off the experience but the mornings are much more peaceful and I found I was able to appreciate the ruins much more, plus the sun rising over the surround peaks is the definition of breathtaking. 

Peru is a truly incredible country with warm, welcoming people and even though I travelled alone I never once felt insecure or intimidated (I do think it helped that I could speak a bit of Spanish as, the few times people did try and harass me into buying souvenirs and postcards in Cusco, I was immediately left alone when I asked them politely to do so).  I urge anyone who is thinking of travelling to South America to add Peru to their itinerary; Machu Picchu is on all of the “things to do/see before you die” lists, and there is a very good reason for that.  Below are some of my favourite photos from the rainforest and Machu Picchu.

View from the lodge (this was shot at midday with a super fast exposure)

Madre De Dios river

View from one of the observation platforms at sunset

The peak immediately behind the ruins is Wanya Picchu which you can climb, its a hard going walk but well well worth it, but stay off the top if you're afraid of heights

Machu Picchu at sunrise

Me and Sumpa the lovely, crazy, antisocial pony I often rode whilst in Cusco

On the top of Wanya Picchu

Oh and if you’re a student and heading to Peru TAKE YOUR STUDENT ID the reductions are incredible, I forgot mine and was kicking myself the whole trip.  Just to give you an idea of the savings, entry to Machu Picchu was 125 nuevo soles (back then) with a student ID it was 30 nuevo soles!!!